The field of the invention is the field of digital media, more specifically to modified media conforming to user-established levels of media censorship.
Digital media video and audio, such as movies, contain product placement and are accountable to various levels of consumer ratings (for example, movies can be rated G, PG-13, R, etc., depending on the level of various content such as violence, language, nudity, and the like). Such categories and their corresponding ratings vary internationally and few digital media is released as both “clean” (i.e., G or PG-13) as well as “uncensored” (i.e., rated R) versions. These consumer ratings are utilized globally as guidelines for culturally accepted or suggested behavior and cultural attitude norm towards given subjects covered by the consumer ratings. There currently exists no facilitator to post-production alter media content to quickly switch from one level of consumer rating to another.
With regard to the product placement component of media artifacts, a disadvantage lies in the fact that currently product placement embedded within the digital media artifact (for example, a character holding a can of beer) is frozen at time of distribution and cannot be altered post production (for example, the same character holding a can of beer cannot post production be shown holding a can of soda instead should a user or media provider prefer the soda to the beer at any given point in time post production). Furthermore, product placement is targeted for a general audience for which the artifact is geared towards, rather than for specific individuals or consumers.